Question:
Which of the following is the forerunner of the autobiography?
Which of the following is the forerunner of the autobiography?
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The origin of autobiography in Western literature is usually traced to St. Augustine's Confessions, which blends personal narrative with spiritual self-examination.
Updated On: Aug 29, 2025
- St. Augustine's \textit{Confessions}
- James Joyce's \textit{Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man}
- William Wordsworth's \textit{The Prelude}
- Izaak Walton's \textit{Lives}
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Definition of autobiography.
An autobiography is a self-written account of one's life, combining personal experience, confession, and reflection.
Step 2: Historical development.
- St. Augustine's Confessions (4th–5th century) is regarded as the earliest major example of Western autobiography. It combines spiritual reflection with personal narrative, setting the template for later works.
- Joyce's Portrait is a 20th-century modernist autobiographical novel, not a forerunner.
- Wordsworth's The Prelude is a Romantic autobiographical poem, but it comes much later.
- Walton's Lives are biographies of others, not an autobiography.
\[
\boxed{\text{St. Augustine's Confessions (Option A)}}
\]
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